1. Field
The invention relates to a method and an apparatus for systematically inspecting connectors of optical cables by using live, still or stored images of the connectors' area.
2. Related Art and Background
Current solutions for inspecting optical fiber connectors provide a single frame image which only displays a partial view of the connector. Technicians inspecting connectors of optical cables, such as MTP connectors, generally use a camera to take a plurality of pictures/images/frames of a plurality of areas of the connector. The camera used to take images of the connector may be a fiber scope. The field of view of such camera may be smaller than the full area of a connector and an image obtained does not comprise the entire area of the connector but only a partial view of the connector. Moreover, the images and frames taken by such cameras do not comprise all the fibers or fiber-ports of the connector. The users are not provided with a method of combining all of these images and frames together for analysis and reporting.
Users of multi-fiber optical cables would like to have a full image of the connector. Accordingly, there is a need for an apparatus and a method for obtaining and displaying a full view of a multi-fiber connector, such as an MTP connector.
It is an object of the invention to provide a system, method and apparatus for automatically combining a plurality of frames showing partial views of a connector into a full image of the connector for analysis and reporting.